H – Havendale


Happy Tuesday, everyone, and welcome to day 8 of the A-Z challenge.  Thank you once again for visiting and reading my contribution to this fun blogging event.  After you’ve lingered, please jump on over to see what the other participants are blogging about.

Now on to the letter H.  From my YA novel, The Eye of Kedge, I bring you the town of Havendale, Tennessee.

Havendale is a fictional mountain town nestled in the heart of the Cherokee National Forest.  As the name implies, it is a quiet town, a refuge, a sanctuary from the rest of the world – that is until inexplicable events begin to happen, and David and Charlotte come face to face with a mysterious little man with ill intent.     

F – Fallhollow


Hi all, welcome to the A-Z challenge.  I thought I had this little ditty planned to go live yesterday, but when I checked my blog this morning, it was still sitting in  time out in my ‘edit’ box.  It’s all good, though.  This way I can post and do my Sunday Snippet Blog hop all at one time!

The A-Z challenge letter for yesterday was the letter “F”.  Since I’m focusing on my novel, The Eye of Kedge, let’s take a little trip to the magical and dangerous world of Fallhollow.  I think I’ll let Sir Trogsdill  Domnall tell you about it. (BTW, this scene is currently in edit mode.  Feedback and comments would be very helpful).

sunday_snippets critique blog hop image

Trog leaned against a tree and peeled the skin from an apple.  “Einar seized the kingdom and made Berg Castle his lair.  That’s when he started growing his army of shadowmorths.”

“Why didn’t the mages do something to stop him?” David asked, popping a handful of berries in his mouth.

“They tried, but everything they did failed.  Jared got involved and sent his daughters and an apprentice magician by the name of Seyekrad to Fallhollow.  Together, they confined the beast below Lake Sturtle.”

David sputtered his food.

“That’s stupid.”  Charlotte tossed David the boda bag.  “Why not just kill him?”

“His scales ward off white magic.”  Trog cut a slice of apple and ate it.  “All they could do was imprison him.”

Charlotte stood and tacked up her hair.  “Well, they didn’t do a great job did they.”

“How long ago did all this happen?” David asked, his brain trying to envision a dragon beneath Lake Sturtle.

“Oh, about a hundred years ago, give or take a few years.”  Trog wiped the blade and sheathed it.  “Of course Einar, being the self-centered miscreant he is, decided to go after Hirth, but he was beaten  by a fifteen-year old lad and an arrow tipped in heem.”    

“Heem?” Charlotte threw her satchel over her shoulder.

“The saliva from an estreal, a rare bird found in the jungles of the floating isles of Ansilar.  Dragon hunters use it to kill their prey.  Sadly, it didn’t kill the beast but it did incapacitate him, until about eighteen years ago.”

“I take it he attacked Hirth again?” David said. 

“Tried,” Trog said.  He pulled on his boots and gathered his bag.  “This time the mages were able to spin a powerful sleeping spell around him, which held until two days ago.”  

David’s stomach fell into a hollow emptiness under the weight of Trog’s words.  He knew all too well what happened two days ago.  Now if he could only figure out how to fix it.  Thing was, he didn’t have a clue.

***

Don’t forget to hop around to the other bloggers who are participating in the A-Z challenge.  You can find the list here.

D – David Heiland


Good day everyone, and welcome to day 4 of the A-Z Challenge.  Thanks for stopping by and reading my contribution to this fun blogging event.  Please feel free to stay as long as you like, then jump on over to see what the other participants are blogging about.

Now on to the letter D.  From my YA novel, The Eye of Kedge, it gives me great pleasure to introduce you to David Alwyn Heiland, one of three main protagonists.  Charlotte you met yesterday, David is today, and Eric follows tomorrow.   Anyone interested to see how I envision David?  Click on the little guy below to find out.

anime boy

David was born March 31 and is almost 18 years old, extremely wealthy and lives with his godmother, Lily, in an 1860’s mansion in Havendale, Tennessee.  His father died 3 months before David was born.  His mother died from complications after David’s birth. His car:  a steel-blue 1967 Shelby Mustang GT500.

He is a champion archer, great at shooting paper targets, but his love for living creatures makes it impossible to shoot and kill.  He’s secretly in love with his best friend, Charlotte, and his OCD tends to get him in sticky spots.  He takes pride in his appearance, is always stylish.  He can be  short-tempered, stubborn, and quick to judge, but those traits are quickly squelched when thrust into the care of Sir Trogsdill Domnall, a highly respected and lethal knight of the kingdom of Hirth.  David may not be fond of Trog’s methods of teaching, but when he comes face to face with two enemies determined to kill him, David  realizes Trog may not be such a bad teacher after all.

***

David woke upon a straw mattress in a moon-lit room cluttered with strange items.  Braided vines hung from the rafters, piles of river rocks and unusual stones, talons, teeth and amulets perched on weather-beaten shelves.  Sloughed reptilian skins hung like party streamers from the ceiling while red and black ink blot paintings clung to the walls at a tilt. A high-backed rocking chair sat in the corner like a lone, forgotten figure, its seat in bad need of repair.  Soft moonlight reflected off the water in the basin, casting ripples of glimmering brilliance upon the planked walls.

A knock on the door broke his concentration.  He flung his long legs over the edge and sat up as the gangling, paper-thin stranger entered carrying a wooden bowl and mug, both with knots, branches and leaves protruding from their sides.  He set them on a nearby round table, along with a lit candle, its yellow wax dripping like lemon tears down its tapered form.

“I have brought you nourishment.”  His voice was soothing, lyrical, like the gurgle of a babbling brook on a Spring day.  “I figured you could do with some stickies on your insides.  I have drawn you a warm bath. It awaits you at the end of the hall.  Fresh clothes are on the chest at the foot of the bed.  Take your time.  When you are done, come downstairs.  We have much to discuss.”  The stranger turned to leave.

“Wait.”  David stood and swept aside fringes of dark hair clumped together by briars. “Who are you?  What are you?”

The stranger flashed a mouth of paper-flat teeth.  “My name is Finnegan.  Finnegan Aginagin and I am a sestra, an emissary of the mages.  You may call me Finn.”

B – Bainesworth von Stuegler


Happy April 2 and welcome to day two of the A-Z Challenge.  Today, I bring to you from my YA novel, The Eye of Kedge, the one, the only, Bainesworth von Stuegler

Bainesworth is an arrogant, devious knight and commander, serving the kingdom of Faucher, an ally kingdom to the kingdom of Hirth. His allegiance, however, doesn’t lie with Faucher’s ailing king, but with himself.  He’s also made himself the arch enemy of Sir Trogsdill Domnall, a revered knight of Hirth.  Trust me, there is no love lost there.

***

Trog tore the shirt from Eric’s hand, slipped it over his head and stormed through the doors.  The murmurs hushed, the room fell silent except for the click of boots across the tiles.

“Well, well, well.  Sir Trogsdill.” Bainesworth’s voice echoed in the hall.  “How nice of you to join us.  Are you well?  You seem ill.”

Trog set his gaze on Bainesworth and grunted.  “You have no idea how sick I feel at this moment.” He scratched his chair across the floor and sat down.

“Yes, well, as usual, you’ve kept us waiting for quite some time.  Then again, that doesn’t surprise me.  You’ve always been a bit ostentatious when an audience is involved.”  He paused for a moment, as if waiting for a rebuttal.  Bainesworth continued, a snide grin pinned to his square face.  “Funny thing is, despite your grand entrance, I’m short of feeling honored by your disheveled presence.  You know how I hate to wait – especially on the likes of you.”

As if I give a damn about what you hate,” Trog said, his expression contemptuous.

“You should.  You top my list.”

“I’m honored, considering I don’t give you a second thought.”

Bainesworth’s lip twitched at the corner.  “I’d watch your arrogance, Sir Trogsdill.  You never know where I’ll be lurking.”

“Lurk all you want.  It makes no difference to me since your fate waits for you on the tip of my sword.  Of this I swear to you.”

Bainesworth chuckled.  “I look forward to your feeble attempt.”

***

Nice guy, huh?

Want to see my vision of what Bainesworth looks like?  Click this little guyDon’t forget to hop around to the other bloggers who are participating in the A-Z challenge.  You can find the list here

D is for David (Heiland, that is)


This is a continuation of the A-Z blog challenge.  Click here to see the list of all 1935 participants!

Who the heck is David Heiland?

He’s this guy…

Okay, okay.  You’re right.  It’s not.  This is Zac Efron, but if I could cast my MC, David, from my novel, In the Shadow of the Dragon King, this is what he would look like. Hot, right?

But what makes my Zac Efron look-alike so special?

David was born March 31 and is 16, almost 17 years old, extremely wealthy and lives with his godmother, Lily.  His father, Edward, was a fighter pilot.  Unfortunately, he died in a training mission over the Gulf of Mexico 3 months before David was born.  His mother, Jillian, died from complications after David’s birth.

David lives in an 1860’s mansion in Havendale, Tennessee, located not far from Bristol, and his favorite ride out of four cars is the steel-blue 1967 Shelby Mustang GT500 his father left him.

He is a champion archer and State track star and longs to be a fighter pilot like his dad when he grows up. His favorite subject is history, and finds Geometry a complete waste of time.  He’s an honor student, and holds multiple National academic awards.  He loves to read, draw and play his guitar. His choice of music:  classic rock and roll from the ‘60s and ‘70s.  He broke his left leg while running in a track competition when he was 15.  The injury still causes occasional problems.

His best friend is Charlotte and he would do anything to keep her from harm. His greatest fear is losing her from his life.  He is not in love with her.   Their friendship is strictly platonic.

He is cunning and mentally alert.  He listens to conversations and picks up subliminal meanings.  He remembers things easily and has a photographic memory, especially when it comes to minor details. Intuitive.  He can articulate well.  He has lots of energy he’s a great organizer and a determined fighter.  He’s a great adversary, especially of mind.  Dramatic.  Tough on the outside, soft on the inside.  Charming.  Stylish.  He likes being alone.  Doesn’t like ‘socializing’ or adulation from teachers for doing what he loves to do, but he does like taking control and being a leader.

He has a need to make things ‘right’.  He can’t stand disorder.  He always has to win, to succeed in everything he does.  Must be the one to take initiative, but needs backup once the ball gets rolling.  Needs to help others, especially without them knowing.

On the downside, he is short-tempered, stubborn, with childlike tendency to see things from his own point of view and to express himself as he sees things in an innocent and youthful way. While some might see this as being self-absorbed or even selfish, he sees it as being honest and expressing his true thoughts and feelings and doing what he thinks is right.

He runs his fingers through his hair a lot, bites his fingernails and grits his teeth when nervous or angry.  He’s a klutz in spite of being a state track champion and he mumbles in his sleep.

He has to make his bed every day.  Papers have to be stacked neatly and in piles of similar size. i.e. large pieces of mail together, letters stacked together, postcards stacked together.  His clothes are color-coded in his closet and are on color-coded hangers.  He flips out if anything is out-of-place.

His greatest weakness:  he’s quick to judge.  Quick tempered.  Easily bored, even with his own concepts, and tends to wander off.  He will sometimes sit back and let others have their way.  He can be bull-headed, obstinate and doesn’t like being told what to do.  He’s impatient, aggressive but also needs reassurance he’s doing the right thing.  He’s two dimensional.  He doesn’t see all sides or all aspects, leaving him open to physical and verbal attacks.

He’s taken down a peg or two when he is thrust into the care of Sir Trogsdill Domnall, a highly respected and lethal knight of the kingdom of Hirth.  David is irritated by Trog’s methods of teaching, but when David comes face to face with a sorcerer and a dragon that are determined to murder him, David soon realizes Trog may not be such a bad teacher after all.